The Disagreement in the Partnership
by Tadpole24
Summary: It had been draining on everyone. But it had been worth it." Booth and Brennan have a disagreement that could jeopardise more than their partnership.


**I wanted to write a multichap, but at the moment, it's a little time consuming, so this little ditty is resultant. :) **

**Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I own Bones. Yeah, me and Bones are good friends...wait. Did I mention Bones is the name of my fish? Oh, silly me, I always forget that part. **

..:::..

Disagreement in the Partnership

..:::..

It had been draining on everyone.

The death of a millionaire's wife was what brought them on board the trying case. Evangeline Morris was murdered at the hands of a man who was capable of making Temperance Brennan's stomach churn. She had been ripped apart, bit by bit. Eaten alive by dogs. Vicious dogs with the instinct and intent only to kill.

Brennan had remembered back to her first year of homicide field work; back then, before she had been taken as live bait for a pack of hungry dogs, she was able to stomach the sight of a woman bound and skinless. But now, recognising the fear this woman would have gone through; Brennan had actually averted her eyes for a fraction of a second and suppressed a heave.

"You don't have to, you know?" Booth had held her at the elbow, steadying his partner while she composed herself, recognising the look in her eyes.

She nodded, "But I want to."

There were no more questions asked about it.

Evangeline was a stunning woman. Dark hair, porcelain skin and cherry red lips that needed no gloss. Her eyes were a deep cerulean that lit up her face. The circles in which she socialised guaranteed her a life of press and media coverage and her pretty face was flashed atop every major newspaper in the tri-state area.

Brennan found herself unable to look at a newspaper without thinking of the feelings that Evangeline would have gone through moments before the pain registered in her limbs and torso. Instead she just immersed herself in the working of this case and this case alone.

Over the next few months suspect after suspect was brought in. Robert Morris had more enemies than anyone could poke a stick at and his wife had died at the hands of one of them. He was the executive producer of one of the most notable music businesses in the District of Columbia. However, he had only signed one artist in the time he had been working there. Leaving many investors disgruntled at the fact that they're dividends were not being paid and many people curious to just _how_ Robert Morris had earned his millions.

It was soon after the first round of interviews (in which every alibi had checked out) that Mackenzie had gone missing.

Robert had burst into Booth's office waving around another ransom note. He sank to his knees in front of the Special Agent and his partner and cried his eyes out, begging them to allow him to pay this ransom. Begging them to respect his wishes. Booth had begun to tell him that FBI won't allow it until proof of life has been given, when Brennan stepped in front of him, facing Robert she told him, "Pay it."

Robert had nodded and run from the room, not understanding that Brennan had no authority in the matter.

"You can't say that. He will have no backup if he pays that ransom, if he's hurt..."

"It'll be better than knowing he did nothing to save his daughter." Brennan finished for him, "It'll be better than having to imagine his own daughter's last screams of terror as the wild dogs come running for her in the middle of the woods. Doing something is better than doing nothing."

He saw the tears in her eyes, but hardly dared to believe it, "Bones, ransom is a very serious power that kidnappers hold over civilians. It's our duty as FBI to make sure that that power is not abused."

Brennan looked up at her partner, her gaze cold and hard. Booth took a step backward, scared her steel blue eyes might actually pierce him. "I'm not FBI"

And with that she marched out of his office to continue investigating the death and kidnap of the Morris girls.

..:::..

Ten hours had passed before Robert Morris was at the Jeffersonian Institute, black bag at hand, a cool five million sitting in that black bag. He walked with a hunched back, Brennan noticed, indicative of exhaustion on a man who normally would have walked with his head held high.

She could empathise.

"Mr. Morris. We didn't expect to see you so soon." She walked down to meet him where he stood.

He looked at her with tired eyes filled with determination, "I need to find my daughter."

She nodded and turned to the podium where most of her team stood, watching the exchange with polite curiosity.

"Cam, could you please get Angela to copy the ransom note that Mr. Morris received. I want to make sure we follow every instruction to the letter."

Cam looked at her for a moment with a look that said no. But it was only a moment. And then she walked from the podium into Angela's office, returning a short moment later with a sheet of paper.

Her high heels clicked on the floor of the Jeffersonian and Brennan found that the pace of her steps did not please her. "Does Booth approve of this?"

The Doctor snatched the piece of paper from her boss and turned back to Robert, "We do not answer to Booth. He is a separate entity to this institution." She didn't wait for the retort she knew she would get before heading out the door to get a little girl back in the arms of her father.

..:::..

Booth walked from the car park to the building in a record 13 seconds. He stormed through the sliding glass doors, barely waiting for them to open before pushing on through. He swiped his access card upon entering the podium, his hand moving so fast it was a mere blur. Approaching the team who were huddled around the bones of Evangeline, he slammed his fist down on a hand rail to get their attention.

"Where's Bones?"

Cam stepped forward, "She's defying you, I believe."

The Agent slammed his fist down again, "Dammit."

Cam pulled a piece of paper from her jacket pocket, "This is a copy of the ransom note; Doctor Brennan is following its direction precisely."

Booth grabbed the piece of paper and nodded his thanks before walking out of the building the way he came in.

..:::..

"What time is it?" Brennan could tell that Robert was getting restless. She was as well. It had been 20 hours since Mackenzie Morris had gone missing and time was everything in a situation like this.

"It's seven pm"

The pair continued to look out across the parking lot. The kidnapper had told them to bring the money here and place it in a skip bin behind the Italian restaurant they were currently parked at.

"Do you think he's going to come?"

Brennan hadn't been trained to deal with these types of questions and she knew that, so she just answered with honesty, "I definitely hope so."

As if on cue, a man dressed in black rounded the corner of the restaurant peering at the skip bin. It was at that moment that Brennan realised what a mistake she'd made. She had nothing to apprehend the man with. No gun, no cuffs. No leverage.

This man was going to walk with the money and Mackenzie was going to die.

And she still had to put on a brave face, because she had persuaded Robert to make the wrong choice.

"Let's go."

Robert looked suddenly nervous, grabbing her arm he whispered, "Shouldn't there be more people here?"

She rolled her arm out of his grasp, unlocking her door as she went, "It's ok, back up is on the way," she lied. She stepped out of her car and approached the skip bin and the man peering into it.

"Excuse me sir, we're going to have to ask you to freeze."

The man took one look at the pair and chuckled to himself. He continued to move, one arm reaching into the skip bin, "What? The FBI is sending out agents without guns now?"

Brennan's eyes nervously flicked to Robert's, "No, we have guns, we're just choosing to give you a chance here, sir." Anyone could tell that she didn't feel comfortable with her lie, but she continued, "Please put the bag down and step away from the bin."

The man just chuckled again, "You don't even know who I am."

He grabbed the bag and heaved it over his shoulder before making a dash for his car. Brennan was faster though and caught him before he could even get the door open. She held both his arms behind his back in both of hers. The contortion of the right arm had made him drop the bag.

"Robert, I need you to reach into my pocket and get my phone. Call Booth."

He hesitated, "I thought you said he was already coming."

She flinched as the man started to gain some control back in his arms, "Robert, please, he needs to get here now, please."

Robert moved forwards and grabbed the phone as Brennan lost her grip on the man's arms and was spun around to a choke hold with a gun pointed at her head. She could see about 3 ways to remove herself from this situation, only none of them were faster than a trigger being pulled.

"This is why you always carry a gun, Agent -?"

"Doctor, not Agent. And it's Brennan."

"Doctor?" He snorted, "They sent the brains trust to apprehend me? I might just have to take you all out into the woods."

That sentence hit Brennan like a sack of bricks. The fear was back in her every fibre. She knew where the woods would lead. They would lead to dogs, vicious dogs biting at her skin, tearing through her organs, leaving only her bones to investigate. Booth would have to work with one of the interns to find out what happened to her. Perhaps it would be Wendall. They would work well together on a case, Booth and Wendall. Perhaps when they were done they'd play some hockey to relieve the stress.

"Maybe after I murder the entire Morris family I'll get paid my dues."

That'd be it then. In the course of one case, Booth would forget about her.

Robert was looking at the pair, a confused look on his face, "I know his voice. But it can't be who I think it is."

The gun's barrel suddenly seemed locked in tighter against Brennan's skull, "Oh Rob, you know exactly who I am and you know how this could have happened. You and your big wig recording company. Your investors losing out, but your family losing out more."

"No! I took good care of my family. And you've taken them away from me."

"I _am_ your family Rob!"

He cocked the gun, ready to shoot Brennan through her temporal lobe. A small part of her relaxed, knowing she wouldn't feel the pain of the dogs teeth ripping through her flesh. She knew she needed to not relax though; she needed adrenalin running through her body in order to do what was likely to be the death of her. So she thought of Booth not even being able to recognise her. She thought of their last conversation together.

"You're not my family. My family was Evangeline and Mackenzie."

"Oh don't cry, Mackenzie's still alive. And look at me Rob. Look at my eyes. You can see it; I know you can. It's your little brother, Jed, coming to collect his money."

Rob began to run at Jed, just as Brennan made the decision to flip him on his back. She braced herself for the gunshot but heard nothing. It all happened so fast that Robert had no time to stop; running into Brennan and sending her to the ground as well. She felt Jed's gun pointing at her skull once again and this time heard a shot ring out.

..:::..

He had already been driving to Remini's when he got the call from a frantic Robert Morris.

"Agent Booth, you have to get here. He's got Doctor Brennan."

He hadn't even hesitated about putting his siren on and stepping on the accelerator.

His last conversation with Bones hadn't been one of their finest moments and he couldn't have her taken from him without rectifying those last words. He knew this case had been hard on her. It had reminded them both of their first year of working together when Kenton had betrayed them and tried to kill her while Booth lay injured in the hospital.

He took a corner at blinding speed as his phone began to ring again.

"Booth"

"Agent Booth, it's Wendall. We know who it is."

"Speak to me, kid."

"Jed Morris. Robert's brother. He disappeared into obscurity after Robert's business started taking off. Sweets reckons that Jed would be feeling like he should be owed money. He's been living off government payments for the last six years. We believe that Mackenzie could be being held in housing commission. We're sending through his last known address."

"Thanks."

He hung up and swung around the last corner, seeing the red sign of Remini's glowing up ahead. He took a last look at the ransom note and hopped out of his car, his gun at hand and ready.

He snuck through the small alley that led to the car park and saw a scene that made his heart plummet.

Bones was being held with a gun to her head. Robert and Jed were yelling at each other. Their voices carrying across the parking lot to where Booth stood. He couldn't believe that the argument was about money and not whether or not to let his Bones go. If he had been there...

He started walking over briskly, staying in the shadows; not wanting to give himself away just yet. His heart pounded in his chest as he watched Bones tip forward, sending Jed to the ground. He took another step forward as Bones fell also and ran full pelt as he saw Jed's arm raise the gun to Bones' head again.

With precision, he aimed, and fired. It was a kill shot and he didn't care. All that mattered was that his Bones was ok. He ran to her, hugging her tightly. No words passed between them. They didn't need them in that moment.

Booth handed his phone to Robert, open on the text message Wendall had sent through with the address they believed Mackenzie to be at.

"Thank you so much."

Booth nodded, still holding his partner in his arms, "We'll all head over there_ together_ and get your daughter back."

..:::..

It had been draining on everyone.

But it was finally over.

Mackenzie had run into her father's arms, not a scratch on her tiny body. It was going to be tough going without Evangeline in their life, but in that moment, Robert had been happy. His daughter was ok and so was he.

Booth knocked gently on Brennan's door. From somewhere deep in her apartment, the words 'come in' were heard, so he let himself in, closing and locking the door behind him.

He wandered through her apartment, leaving the Thai on her kitchen bench; they'd get to that later. He found her in her bedroom, curled up on top of the covers, staring into nothing. She barely moved as he entered the room and he knew that he was safe to sit with her.

Kicking off his shoes he sat on the edge of the bed and pushed himself backwards so that he was sitting against the headboard. She rolled over then, to face him. She still didn't speak as she pulled his hand in a hint for him to lie down. He slid downward, his eyes staring into hers. She slid an arm across his waist and he did the same to her. Each holding the other in a loose hug.

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you."

Booth saw the pain in her eyes, "It's ok."

She shook her head, "It's not ok. We're supposed to work together as a team. I defied that trust."

"Bones, we're bound to have disagreements, it happens to the best of us. And you had personal attachment to this case."

"It shouldn't have been. I should have been able to compartmentalize my issues with the attack and work this case how we always work cases. I am so sorry you had to kill a man."

Booth reached his arm up to his partner's forehead, his fingers grazing against the bruise on her temple, "I would kill again too Bones; if it meant you were safe." She let her eyes flutter shut at the soft touch of his hands, allowed his breath to sooth her as it blew against her eyes, "You're not the only one who's unable to compartmentalize, Bones." She felt his breath move lower on her face; over her nose, on to her lips. "I would do anything for you."

Her own breathing hitched as his lips touched hers.

Once. Twice. Thrice his lips gently bumped against hers before he caught her bottom lip between his. It was only then that Brennan remembered to breathe again; the air rushing out of her on the sound of a moan. They both smiled against each other's lips.

"No disagreements on this, then?"

"Definitely not"

He kissed her again, his fingers wrapping in her hair, pulling her closer to him. Always closer.

It had been draining, yes.

But it had been worth it.

..:::..

**The little green words down there like being tapped....yeah, I took it there. :) **

**Please review. **

**xx**


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